Preventing Disgruntled Employees Made Easy

Every beginning has its end; the employment road is no different. People find dream jobs, they leave for better opportunities, and sometimes they are fired from a nightmare that started in bliss. Despite the commonly held perception that “people don’t leave their jobs, they leave their managers,” a study from LinkedIn found that most employees quit due to a lack of advancement opportunities.

Remember the case of CBS affiliate KTVA reporter Charlene “Charlo Greene” Egbe, who made everyone in the broadcast area aware of her grievances? Egbe brought quitting into a whole new playing field. Not only was she reporting on the hot topic of marijuana legalization in Alaska, she explicitly quit her position while on air. Egbe announced her ownership of the Alaskan Cannabis Club and afterwards exclaimed that she quit.

Now, not all employees will leave their position as hastily or begrudgingly. In Egbe’s case, she left her broadcast position at KTVA in order to follow a path she was passionate about — an opportunity she wouldn’t have had in her position with the CBS partner. As a recruiter, you can help to prevent former employees from becoming disgruntled. After all, you’re the first one they talk to about the company and the position. Their first impressions of the job rely on you. The opportunities they will and won’t have are dependent upon what you convey.

Goal Alignment

As previously stated, Egbe’s passion wasn’t in the news business. She wanted to make a bigger, more profound difference in her community. Her goals did not match those of the organization, so she followed them elsewhere. This is why matching the right candidate to the right position is so important. Culturally and functionally, pairing talent to a job can mean the success of both the new hire and the company. When a new hire is successful in the position, it means a lower turnover rate. Andre Lavoie, entrepreneur and CEO of ClearCompany, explained why goal alignment is important for employee satisfaction and company success:

“Understanding how individual employee work ladders up to larger organizational goals allows for an in-depth understanding of progress. Additionally, it ensures your workers understand their value and contributions to the company. This helps improve employee engagement and leads to a happier company culture. Implementing a goal-centric system makes certain your people are working towards the right goals, preventing costly misalignment.”

Exit Interviews

It’s inevitable. Companies are going to have employees that aren’t happy about quitting because of workplace conflicts or lack of appreciation. However, to prevent future disgruntled former employees, hiring managers can sit down with the former employees to conduct exit interviews and communicate findings to keep recruiters in the loop. Find out exactly where the company went wrong and what it can do better. One-fifth of employees who voluntarily leave their jobs do so because they are simply bored. There is a direct correlation between boredom and few or no opportunities for internal advancements. Employees want to be challenged; it isn’t enough to have attractive benefits.

Deborah Muller, CEO of HR Acuity, said that exit interviews are often not as effective as they could be because the HR team just goes through the motions. In order to change anything in the company or hiring process, you can’t simply ask the questions and file them away: you have to actually pay attention and act on them. Muller said:

Charlene Egbe is not the only employee who has left their job in a less-than-tactful manner. Goal misalignment can be prevented before a candidate is even hired. Proper recruiting inhibits employees from becoming complacent or unhappy with their work.

However, in the event an employee resigns from their position because they are unhappy at their job, a lot can be learned from exit interviews. The catch is, you have to actually pay attention to them. Going through the motions of an exit interview won’t do anything to reduce turnover or increase employee engagement. In fact, if you’re only going through the motions, you might as well just not do them – except for the fact they serve as legal protection for the company (so you really should).

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Sarah Duke is a Content Creator at Red Branch Media, a marketing and advertising firm that serves the Human Resources and Recruiting markets. Red Branch Media has grown from a simple consultancy to a full-service B2B marketing agency. Duke brings a history of Public Affairs experience to Red Branch and enjoys writing about the HCM Marketplace. Google+ Profile

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